Tablet dispenser



Jan. 23, 1968 D. w. MGTAGA+ 3,365,099

TABLET DI SPE-NSER or inal Filed Feb. 1, 1966 FIG! m B mu m w a R m w mm mm/ o ET T a I, m M m ,mmmmm m w w a. 5 mm N7 p mw 7 G J W] UnitedStates Patent 3,365,099 TABLET DISPENSER Donald W. McTaggart, Agincourt,Ontario, Canada, as-

signor to Mead Johnson & Company, a corporation of Indiana Continuationof application Ser. No. 524,120, Feb. 1, 1966. This application May 12,1967, Ser. No. 638,155 Claims. (Cl. 221-267) This is a continuation ofSer. No. 524,120, filed Feb. 1, 1966, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to a stablet dispenser, and more particularly toa dispenser which is especially useful to the taking of tablets on aschedule which must be synchronized with the personal schedule of theuser.

The present invention is primarily adapted for aiding the dispensing andtaking of contraceptive medication by women on an irregular schedulewhich must be properly synchronized with the physiological menstrualcycle of the individual. The dispenser is useful for dispensing anysubstance in tablet form and the indicia provided permit its use with asubstance which must be dispensed on a schedule. The description hereinof the invention and its use is directed primarily to dispensingcontraceptive medication.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a new and improveddispenser particularly adapted for dispensing tablets on a schedule.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dispenser which servesas a simple and helpful aid to an individual taking medication on anirregular schedule.

A further object of this invention is to provide a dispenser having anovel construction that is easily contained in a case indistinguishablefrom a ladys tube of lipstick and adapted to be carried among thepersonal effects of a lady in a purse, or the like, without disclosingmatters which are personal to the individual.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a tablet dispenserof the character described which is easily manipulatable and easilysynchronized by the user with the personal schedule of the individual.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of a dispenser embodying the invention andencased within a cover simulating a tube of lipstick;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged elevation view of the dispenser with the coverremoved;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view, taken generally along the line 3-3 ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the dispenser as shown in FIGURE 2, withthe plunger element removed;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the plunger element;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation view of the plunger element of FIGURE 5;and

FIGURE 7 is a rear elevation view on a reduced scale of the dispenser ofFIGURE 2.

The invention is illustrated herein as embodied in an elongated tabletdispenser incorporated in a construction indistinguishable from a ladystube of lipstick, as illustrated in FIGURE 1. A tablet holder generallydesignated 10 (FIGURE 2) is adapted for insertion into a decorativeremovable tubular cover 12 (FIGURE 1). Thus, the dispenser comprises anovel construction which is adapted to be carried among the personaleffects of a lady in a purse, or the like, without revealing matterswhich are personal to the individual. The holder 10 includes an enlargedbase 14 having a plurality of peripheral lugs 14a about which the lowerportion of the cover 12 is securely 3,365,599 Patented Jan. 23, 1968positioned to space the cover from the balance of the holder. The lowerend of the holder 10 has a sloped flange 16 with an upper surface 16aagainst which the lower edge of the cover 12 abuts.

The holder 10 is comprised of an elongate tubular member 18 whichcontains a plurality of tablets T stacked therein. The tubular memberhas an open end 20 (FIG- URE 4) which defines a mouth for dispensing thetablets one at a time from the end of the stacked adjacent the mouth.The mouth may be formed slightly smaller than the diameter of a tabletto prevent the tablets from falling therethrough, or the mouth mayinclude several protrusions 28 to prevent accidental dispensing of atablet. The tubular member 18 includes a marginal stifiFening flange 22about the mouth. An elongate slot, generally designated 24, extendssubstantially the entire length of the tubular member 18 and extendsinto the mouth 20 to provide flexibility at the mouth to permit tabletsto be forced therethrough. The slot 24 also provides a path for themovement of the plunger head (hereinafter described).

A plurality of teeth 25a are disposed along at least one side of theslot 24 and extend transversely into the slot. The teeth are spaced inaccordance with the thickness of the tablets T stacked in the tubularmember 18 whereby a gap 25b between adjacent teeth registers with asingle tablet contained in the tubular member.

An actuating member in the form of a plunger element 26 is positioned inthe tubular member at the end of the stack of tablets remote from themouth of the tubular member. The plunger is the means through whichmanual force is transmitted to the stack of tablets to dispense them oneat a time through the mouth 20. The plunger 26 includes a boss 26aextending into slot 24 and a pointer head 2612 at the outer end of boss26a. The boss 26a is of such a size as to fit snugly in the gaps 25bbetween adjacent teeth 25a in slot 24. Thus, the application of force inthe direction of arrow A (FIGURE 2) on the plunger head 26]) urges theplunger 26 against the remote end of the stack of tablets. Sutficientforce will cause the boss to snap past a tooth 2511, thereby popping asingle tablet from the open mouth 20 of the dispenser for every toothpassed by the boss.

The tablet holder 16 and plunger 26 may easily be molded of lightweightplastic material and the cover 12 may be formed of a metallic materialthereby resembling a tube of lipstick or the like.

The indicia and markings embodied in the dispenser shown in the drawingsare employed to adapt the holder of this invention for use by women inthe taking of a contraceptive medication where dosage starts severaldays following the first day of the menstrual period. Obviously, theindicia may be much simpler for the systematic dispensing of tabletswhere the delayed starting of the use is not involved.

In the embodiment illustrated, a plurality of numerical indicia,generally designated I, are disposed along one side of the slot 24. Theindicia shown include the numbers 5 through 25 inclusive intended toindicate the corresponding days in the menstrual cycle. The first tabletis taken on the fifth day of the menstrual cycle and another is taken oneach successive day. The pointer-like plunger head 26]) moves with theplunger as the stack of pills are depleted and points to the particularnumerical day of the menstrual cycle as the tablets are taken on a dailyschedule.

In order to eliminate the necessity of keeping an independent record ofthe particular day when ones menstrual cycle started and what day of theweek corresponds to the numbers 5 through 25 described above, aplurality of marking positions, generally designated M, are disposed onthe opposite side of slot 24 in registry with the numerical indicia I.These positions are formed by a frosted or roughened surface area on theplastic tubular member, divided by 13, a plurality of dark lines 28,opposite teeth 25a, into an area for each tablet. The marking positions,being frosted, are adapted to receive writing such as the first letterof the days of the week, as illustrated in the drawings.

An individual may write the first letter of the day of the week whichcorresponds to the fifth day of her menstrual cycle opposite thenumerical indicia 5, etc., successively through number 25. Thus, aschedule of taking pills can easily be synchronized with the personalschedule of the user by simply placing appropriate marks in the markingposition-s. The day of the week marking positions, the gaps 255 betweenteeth 25a and the numerical indicia I are in transverse alignment. Tips30 on each side of the plunger head, FIGURE 2, point to the indicia andthe marking positions to provide a time reference indicator whichfacilitates rapid visual registration of the numerical indicia and theday of the week markings in relation to the number of tablets remainingin the dispenser and thus the particular time in the menstrual cycle.

The tablet dispenser of this invention is especially useful whenemployed with a systematic or sequential system of medication. Forinstance, a known sequential system of contraceptive medication requirestablets containing an estrogenic agent be taken from day 5 through dayof the menstrual cycle and a tablet containing aprogestational-estrogenic agent be taken from day 21 through day 25 ofthe menstrual cycle. The two types of tablets are preferably ofdiiferent colors to permit easy identification. Since the dispenser ofthis invention necessitates the dispensing of tablets one at a time fromone end of a planned stack of tablets, the proper sequence of takingtablets in a systematic or sequential system is insured.

A grated window, generally designated W in FIGURE 7, is disposeddiametrically opposite the slot 24 in the tubular member 18 and performstwo functions in the embodiment of this invention, as illustrated in thedrawings. The window provides support openings through which core pinsmay be inserted to stabilize the inner core of the mold during themolding of the plastic tubular member. Without stabilizing core pins, itis diificult to mold a concentric tubular member and a portion of themolten plastic material would bridge over the slot 24 Secondly, thewindow is positioned so that only one of the difierently coloredprogestational-estrogenic tablets is exposed when the dispenser iscompletely filled with its desired number of tablets whereby a rapidvisual inspection insures that a correct number of each type of tabletis contained in the tubular member. Each layer of tablets lines up witheach of the horizontal grill patterns in the window.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail an embodiment of the invention with the understanding that thepresent disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of theprinciples of the invention and is not intended to limit the inventionto the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention willbe pointedout in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tablet dispenser, comprising: an elongate tubular member containinga plurality of tablets stacked in one 4 end thereof, said one end beingopen to define a mouth for dispensing tablets from the stack, theperiphery of the mouth being slightly smaller than a tablet to holdtablets in the tubular member against unintended dispensation, saidtubular member including a slot extending the length of a full stack oftablets and through the open end of said tubular member to provideflexibility in the mouth for temporarily enlarging the mouth responsiveto the application of force on the tablets in the direction of the mouthto afiect sequential dispensation of tablets out of said month, saidslot having a plurality of teeth along one side thereof and extendinginto the slot, adjacent teeth being spaced at distance equal to thethickness of a tablet, and a plunger element in said tubular member atthe end of the stack of tablets remote from said mouth, said plungerelement being adapted to transmit force to the remote end of the stackof tablets to dispense tablets from the stack through said month, saidplunger element including a boss extending into said slot, said bossfitting snugly in a gap between adjacent teeth in said slot whereby onforcing said plunger against the stack of tablets said boss snaps pastsaid teeth, popping a single tablet from g the dispenser for every toothpassed by said boss.

2. The tablet dispenser of claim 1 including numerical indicia on saidtubular member along said slot, said indicia being correlated with thelength of the slot, the teeth extending into said slot, the thickness ofindividual tablets and sequential units of time within a cycle to relatethe tablets remaining in the dispenser to a portion of time remaining inthe cycle to verify proper usage of the tablets.

3. The tablet dispenser of claim 1 including a window in said tubularmember remote from said slot, a portion of the window positionedrelative to the top of the stack of tablets when the dispenser is filledwith its desired number of tablets to provide a rapid visual inspectionmeans for determining that the correct number of tablets is contained inthe tubular member.

4. The tablet dispenser of claim 2 wherein said tubular member has aplurality of discrete marking positions on one side of the slot, eachbeing correlated with the tablets, the numerical indicia along the slotand the teeth extending into said slot, for receiving markings by a userat the initiation of a critical portion of a cycle to permit thedispensing of tablets on a schedule by placing opposite each tablet theappropriate marking corresponding to the desired schedule of usagethereby synchronizing the tablet dispenser with the personal schedule ofthe user.

5. The tablet dispenser of claim 4 wherein the marking positions arelocated on said tubular member on the side of said slot opposite theteeth that extend into the slot and wherein the plunger has a pointerportion directed toward the marking positions and the indicia tofacilitate rapid visual registration of the marking positions inrelation to the number of tablets remaining in the dispenser as theplunger bears against the remote end of the stack of tablets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,973,903 9/1934 King 206-563,112,046 11/1963 Szekely 22l267 X 3,265,201 8/ 1966 Edwards 20656STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Examiner.

1. A TABLE DISPENSER, COMPRISING: AN ELONGATE TUBULAR MEMBER CONTAININGA PLURALITY OF TABLES STACKED IN ONE END THEREOF, SAID ONE END BEINGOPEN TO DEFINE A MOUTH FOR DISPENSING TABLETS FROM THE STACK, THEPERIPHERY OF THE MOUTH BEING SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN A TABLEWT TO HOLDTABLETS IN THE TUBULAR MEMBER AGAINST UNINTENDED DISPENSATION, SAIDTUBULAR MEMBER INCLUDING A SLOT EXTENDING THE LENGTH OF A FULL STACK OFTABLETS AND THROUGH THE OPEN END OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER TO PROVIDEFLEXIBILITY IN THE MOUTH FOR TEMPORARILY ENLARGING THE MOUTH RESPONSIVETO THE APPLICATION OF FORCE ON THE TABLETS IN THE DIRECTION OF THE MOUTHTO AFFECT SEQUENTIAL DISPENSATION OF TABLES OUT OF SAID MOUTH, SAID SLOTHAVING A PLURALITY OF TEETH ALONG ONE SIDE THEREOF AND EXTENDING INTOTHE SLOT, ADJACENT TEETH BEING SPACED A DISTANCE EQUEL TO THE THICKNESSOF A TABLET,